Saudi relief group completes 2,700 of 4,000 houses in Pakistan

January 30, 2008

The Saudi Public Assistance for Pakistan Earthquake Victims (SPAPEV) has completed construction of more than 2,700 prefabricated houses for families displaced by the October 2005 earthquake.

A $16.7 million contract was signed to construct 4,000 houses in Balakot, North-West Frontier Province in October 2006. The remaining houses will be completed very soon, SPAPEV Deputy Regional Director Dr. Khalid M. Othman said today.

SPAPEV also signed a $5.1 million contract to build 1,000 prefabricated houses in Bagh, Azad Kashmir for victims of the quake. That project is expected to begin soon, Othman said.

In addition to the houses, SPAPEV plans to construct 30 secondary schools in the Bagh and Balakot areas as well as 30 large mosques and 90 small mosques.

SPAPEV is supervised by Minister of Interior Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz. It operates under the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

It has provided $2 million each to UNICEF and the World Food Program (WFP), and $700,000 to the READ Foundation. It has also handed over relief aid worth millions to international organizations such as the International Islamic Relief Organization.

After the deadly 2005 earthquake devastated regions of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia was the single largest donor to relief efforts with aid in excess of $573 million.